Fight For Love
by DD1980
Summary: This story takes place following the break up of Jade and Althea from episode 44 of the Philippines Soap Opera, The Rich Man's Daughter.


**I only own the story not the characters.**

 **Fight for Love**

 **Chapter 1**

After Wila threw her out of the house and her desperate pleas to Althea went unheard, Jade realized there was nothing else to do except leave so she walked away heart broken and fighting back tears. But the second she got in the car she rested her head on the steering wheel and allowed the tears to break free. She couldn't believe that after everything they have been through this was how their relationship was going to end. Jade knew the answers to fixing her relationship but it was a sacrifice she wasn't sure she could make. Needing some time and space to think alone, she wiped the tears roughly from her eyes, started the car and sped away.

After driving around for a bit lost in her thoughts, Jade had decided to go to the Valkyrie nightclub as it was quiet at that time of day and it would give her the chance to decide what to do. Also, thinking about the fight and break up and everything that had just taken place at Wila's, made her mad and in need of a drink. Ten minutes later Jade pulled into the lot of The Palace complex, parked the car and entered the club.

Once inside she walked straight up to the bar, sat down and ordered, "Vodka straight, please."

"Hard day?" the bartender asked.

Jade looked up and saw a tall, brown haired stunning lady who ironically looked like Althea. "Hard break up," she answered sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She poured the drink and handed it to her saying, "first one's on me."

"Thank you." Jade gulped the drink down, lavishing the _burn_ of vodka as it _ran down her throat_. She ordered a second drink, downed it and then immediately requested a third one.

"Perhaps you should consider drinking this one slowly."

"Now where's the fun in that," Jade replied throwing the third one back and ordering a fourth. She then looked up at the bartender as the glass was placed in front of her. "Thank you for your concern though…"

"Aya,"

"Jade," she replied, saluting at her with the glass.

They talked for a few minutes, then Aya walked off and Jade sat staring at her purse fighting an internal battle between her heart and head. Giving up, she pulled her phone out of her purse, brought up Althea's number and contemplated calling only to remember the number had been changed. "Damn her!" She tossed the phone angrily back in the purse and gulped down the remains of her fourth drink.

As Aya returned she saw Jade fiddling with her rings. "Husband not answering?"

"Husband?" Jade followed her line of sight and saw her looking at her hand. "No, God no, I wasn't calling my husband. Ugh, I hate that word," she said revolted.

Aya refilled her glass. "Sorry, I just saw the rings and…"

"Oh, these? These aren't rings, these are called shackles." Jade pulled the rings off and placed them on the bar. "I'm married to Shackle Boy only I wish I wasn't. Actually that's not true . . . I wish I was married but to my girlfriend." Seeing the confused look on Aya's face she verified, "See I'm a lesbian who is married to a guy because of pressure from my family. No wait, that's parly true." She took a sip of her drink and continued. "It's mothly pressure but I thought marrying Shackle Boy would get my family off my back, which in turn would allow me more freedom with Althea."

"I'm guessing it didn't."

"Nope! Noooo it didn't . . . It only made it more difficult because whenever I wanted to be alone with Althea, he ad to come along as well," Jade explained, gesturing wildly with her hands, splashing her drink. "And whenever I wath with him, Althea would get jealous. And now . . ."

Jade attempted to hold back the tears but when Aya gave her hand a comforting squeeze she wept uncontrollably. To try and gain control of her emotions, she guzzled down her glass of vodka and then tapped the glass on the bar instructing a refill.

"I'm not sure about that, Jade. This will be your sixth glass," Aya suggested concerned.

"And it won't be my last." Jade chuckled tapping the glass again.

"How about a coffee instead?"

"No thanks, I'm in drowning my sorrows mood. That's how I'm feeling at the moment." Jade tapped the glass on the bar again while looking straight at Aya.

"Alright," Aya sighed, reluctantly filling the glass. "But drink this one slowly okay?"

"Oh great, now you're telling me what to do."

"No . . . it's just a suggestion, from a new friend."

Jade looked up at her apologetically." I know, I'm sorry. It's just evewyone is always delling me what to do. Who to love. Who to be friends with. I'm damn tired of it. They all can go to hell." She took a gulp of her drink and then continued frustratingly, "I was matched with David since we were kids, sho I never got a chance to date anyone else. Oh, and my parents also chose my friends for me." She then waved her hand dismissively. "But I love my friend, Sally, alvough she's being quite ignorant."

"About you being gay?" Aya queried.

"Yep!" Jade exclaimed nodding her head. "She said now that I'm married to Dabeed she's glad my…" she used quotes gesture, "lesbian phase is over."

"Stupid narrow minded people. There's no such thing. No offence to your friend," Aya apologized.

"No offence taken," Jade snorted. "And you're exactly right. It isn't a phase. You can't change a straight person gay or a gay person straight. My family, specially my Dada have tried everything to change me and my brother Paul." She had another mouthful of drink. "Dada had Paul beaten up and me kidnapped. Although, I don't think I should've told you any of that."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Aya promised, trying not to laugh at Jades' drunk ranting.

Jade shrugged her shoulders and continued, "Then they were going to send us to the Mainland so we wouldn't shame them anymore because the Tanchingco pride and reputation takes pwecedence over . . . well everything." Jade rolled her eyes in disdain only to smile brightly seconds later. "But Althea saved me. She outsmarted Dada, chased me down in the airport and got me out of there. She's been there for me, supported me and loved me even through all my family drama."

"She sounds like a special woman."

"Yeah . . . she is. She really is. She's the love of my life," Jade sighed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "But noooow Althea's had enough and brok . . . broke up with me."

Aya sympathized with her because she knew the agony of heartache. "Hey . . . maybe Althea will call in a couple of days and you'll work things out."

"No . . . it's over. We're done," Jade choked out, bursting into tears. "I've lost her and I only have myself to blame. Althea was right, I have turned her into my mistress. I have put my family before her time and time again. I'm a jerk. The biggest jerkiest jerk out there."

"No you're not. It's a hard place to be stuck, between love and family, but you need to listen to what your heart wants, not your families," Aya stated encouragingly.

"But why do I have to choose? Why can't I just have both?" Jade growled, throwing back the remains of her drink, enjoying the feel of the smooth liquid burning her throat.

"Yeah, well you shouldn't have to choose," Aya griped, refilling Jade's glass and pouring a quick shot for herself. "Families are supposed to love you and accept you for who you are, not for who they want you to be." She threw her drink back, slammed the glass down and then walked off.

Jade felt guilty as she watched Aya move about behind the bar mumbling and snapping at the other bartenders, because she realized she had passed on her own misery. Obviously the topic of family and love is a sensitive one, it made her feel even guiltier for bringing it up. She picked up the glass and stared into the liquid as if it could give her answers to all her problems, but as images of Althea and her family tormented her all she felt was anger, sadness and confusion. So she guzzled the remains of her seventh drink and waved the glass.

"Another one barkeep," she chuckled tapping the glass on the polished bar.

Aya walked over wiping her hands on a towel and stood looking at Jade amused. "Barkeep? Really?"

"Sorry. Don't know what's come over me," Jade apologized sheepishly.

"It's the alcohol," Aya answered as she refilled Jades' glass. "I call it truth serum, because it makes you say and do things you normally wouldn't do."

"Hmm!" Jade picked up the glass, examined the liquid for a few seconds and gulped a mouthful. "Then dude, this stuff is lethal," she voiced out loud and giggled because the word 'dude' reminded her of Batchi. "But it sure gives me a good buzz and takes my problems away."

"Yeah, for a little while but then the buzz wears off and your problems return."

Jade looked back and forth between Aya and her drink a few times and then stopped and glared at Aya. "Dude, you're a buzzkill."

Aya smirked and shrugged her shoulders saying, "Sorry," then walked off laughing.

"Buzzkill!" she laughed and called out, only to quickly shy away from embarrassment as people looked at her.

With the drink in her hand, Jade spun around on the stool and shook her head to clear the haziness, only it didn't work. Because as she looked around the nightclub she still felt dizzy and everything was still blurry. She could just barely see there were people dancing, some sitting at the bar and others mingling around the place. It had been practically empty when she arrived but now it was slowly getting crowded. _How long have I been sitting here for?_ she wondered turning back around to get her phone out of her purse. When Jade turned the power on she squinted and saw the time and couldn't believe two hours had passed.

As she was about to turn it back off, Jade got distracted by the wallpaper on her phone. It was a picture of Althea, Miggy and herself when they had the family picnic at the park. Jade smiled as she remembered the teasing and flirting that happened when they got back to Wila's that day and that it was also the day she called Althea "the love of my life." Thinking of Althea made her feel empty and sad so she gulped down her drink, looked for Aya to get another one but when she couldn't be found gestured to the new bartender who introduced herself as Reymi.

 **JatheaRastro** **JatheaRastro** **JatheaRastro** **JatheaRastro**

One hour later, Aya returned from waiting tables, looked over to check on Jade and saw her sitting hunched over. Reymi informed her that 'Sleeping Beauty', as she had nicknamed Jade, had had two drinks and some pretzels and had been sitting in that position for quite a while. After thanking her colleague Aya headed over to Jade and stood in front of her smirking.

Seconds later she slapped the bar. "Hey Sleeping Beauty, time to wake up. This is a no sleeping zone." But when Jade slowly lifted her head and Aya saw her teary red eyes she knew it was no time for joking. "Oh, hey . . . I'm sorry. What's wrong?"

"No . . . nothing. Everything," Jade answered, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. "I'm just torturing myself." She handed Aya her phone which showed a picture of her and Althea, smiling and hugging each other that Miggy had taken the day of the family picnic.

"Wow! So that's Althea?"

"Yep."

Aya wanting to make Jade feel better, turned the phone off and handed it back. "She's ok I guess."

"Ok? She's more than ok," Jade stated offended. She then took a gulp of her drink and in one breath counted off her fingers saying, "Althea is Beautiful. Strong. Smart. Sexy. Gorgeous. Funny. Cute . . . the love of my life. She's perfectly perfect to me. She's more than ok."

"Alright! Sorry. She sounds and looks amazing," Aya explained, holding her hands in front of her in a surrender gesture. "It was my lame attempt at trying to make you feel less miserable. I obviously failed."

"No, it's fine. Apology accepted," Jade chuckled. She turned the phone back on and solemnly stared at the picture. "I just want to hold onto the memories for as long as I can. No matter how much it tortures me."

Aya softly smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "I can understand that."

Jade looked at her with a smile of thanks and simply sat scrolling through pictures remembering good times. Moments later a familiar thumping beat began to play throughout the nightclub. "Oh come on! Talk about torture," she exclaimed loudly, dropping face down on the bar and banging her forehead continously.

Aya had been serving a customer when she heard Jade call out and when she walked over to see what was wrong, she couldn't help but laugh at her new friends antics. "You dent the bar, you'll have to pay for repairs."

Jade looked up at her, shrugged her shoulders and snorted, trying not to laugh. "It seems I can't escape memories after all."

"Why's that?"

Jade glanced at the dancefloor and laughed when she saw the people dancing, because looking at them she saw her and Althea. "Because this music was playing on a night that I consider was my first date with Althea." She placed her hands over her face embarrassed. "We danced like such dorks. Actually first we went to the movies, started playing up in the cinema then we walked out and came here."

"Sounds like it was a memorable night."

"It really was! I'd never had so much fun in my entire life. When I'm with her, she makes me happy, makes me laugh and makes me feel so loved. Her and her son Miggy." She smiled thinking about all the fun times they've had as a family. "Miggy even calls me Mommy Jade."

"That's sweet."

"Yeah. I love it and I love them. I just want them back so badly." She felt tears running down her face and quickly wiped them away. "What the hell is wrong with me? One moment I'm crying then I'm laughing . . . I don't understand."

Aya tried not to laugh. "It's the alcohol, Jade. It's the different effects of being drunk. First you're happy and then you're sad and then you repeat the cycle."

"Is everything being blurry and feeling dizzy and sick . . . all parts of being drunk as well?"

"Yep! I see it here every night," Aya informed her.

"Oh good! Because I'm feeling it all of it and it also explains why dere is four of you," Jade slurred with a hiccup.

"Ok. Well then, I think it would be a great time to stop drinking and go home, don't you think?" Aya suggested, pulling the empty glass away. "Want me to call a taxi?"

"No thanks. Iiiiiii've got it taken care of." Jade glared at her, well all four of her and realized she was right. So she picked up her phone, pulled up her contacts and squinted at the screen. "I can't find or see his number."

Aya chuckled and held her hand out. "Give me the phone and tell me who to look for."

Jade attempted to find the number herself but gave up and handed the phone over. "Look for Gab. He's my big brother," she slurred and then rested her head on the bar.

Aya found Gab's number, introduced herself and explained why she was calling. After the laughter stopped, Gab confirmed he was on his way and thanked her for taking care of his sister. When she went to hand the phone back to Jade, she shook her head because Jade had fallen asleep. "Another stage of drunkenness is sleeping. You're going to regret this when you wake up." After placing her number in Jades' contact list, Aya placed the phone in her purse and stood watch over her.


End file.
